All Monsters Are Human
by The Angel In Blue
Summary: It was all gone. Everything I had come to know, gone. The undead walked the Earth, and I was alone. I was alone, until I found him. Until he found me. Daryl/OC
1. Lost and About to Die

I sprinted through the woods in a desperate run to remain alive. The instinct for survival prevailed over all the pain I was feeling in my body, but it wasn't enough to keep me alive for long. I was being chased by the undead. Yes, the undead. The world had gone to shit, and I was next. There were six of them, coming from different directions. I couldn't see much because I was beginning to feel dizzy, but I knew there wasn't much hope for me anymore.

Anytime now, they were going to catch up to me, and I was going to die.

I glanced back, noticing that one of them was already approaching me in a clumsy run. The amount of pounding in my head was almost ridiculous, and I felt like I was going to die from it. The air that entered and exited my lungs tasted like blood, and I was sweating all over the place. Twenty-six years of living and I had never ran like this before!

Being the ultimate klutz that I was, I tripped on a twig and landed with my face on the mud. I groaned in despair and prayed not to die. I had never been very catholic or devoted to religion in general, but I liked to believe that there was something more than this. Of course I didn't imagine a guy with a huge beard looking down upon his domain, but I liked to think that everything happened for a specific reason. Right now, I still couldn't imagine what the reason was for the shit that had been happening lately.

I mean, I had lost everything. And by everything, I mean literally _everything_. My life had been turned upside down almost completely. When shit hit the fan for real, my family and I joined a group of survivors outside the city of Atlanta, but it got overrun by biters a few weeks later. Only a few lived through that disaster, and that included my older brother, Mason, my younger sister, Carrie, and I. My brother was only four years older than I was, and he had recently gotten married to the girl he loved. You can only imagine how shitty it is when the undead start walking the Earth and wipe out a large percentage of the human population. Unfortunately, that also included our parents and Mason's wife.

So, now, here I was, completely alone in the woods, running from death itself. Life does have a way of screwing you over, doesn't it? After our camp got devastated, I lost myself from my family. Honestly, I hope they're in a better situation than I am right now.

I struggled to get up, but it was useless. Just when I was almost on my feet, one of those damned creatures jumped on me, sending me towards the mud all over again. It growled and hissed at me, just like a hungry and careless animal. I whirled around immediately and kicked it as hard as I could, trying to stop it from taking a bite on my flesh. In my whole life, I had never been good in a fight. Little did I know at that time that right now, that lack of knowledge was going to be the death of me.

My arms ached, and so did my legs. I was so tired of kicking that freaking thing. I truly just wanted to give up and let the bitch take me. But I knew that this wasn't going to be the end. For some reason, destiny loved to play tricks on me – actually, you could say that I am very paranoid and blame higher orders for all the disastrous events in my life or in the world – and just when I thought that it was useless to keep fighting, a freaking arrow flied towards the skull of that ragged woman who was desperately trying to eat me like I was the last pizza on the world.

I arched my eyebrows and glared around, trying to detect where that arrow had come from. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to figure out the source of it, because there were other five undead sons of bitches coming in my way. I pushed the undead woman away from me and started running towards the opposite direction.

Another three arrows hit the biters, and now there were only two of them left. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to die today. I continued running, but a muscular arm pulled me against one of the trees, having me trapped and in a panic attack almost instantly. As if having two undead creatures chasing me through the woods wasn't already bad enough! I moved to see who this stranger was and, in the moment that I did, he covered my mouth with his hand and shushed me.

My eyes widened and I tried to kick him, but he was a lot stronger than me. The two walkers kept running in our direction, not knowing where I had gotten myself into. I could listen to them growling loudly, the leaves beneath their feet being crushed as they walked by. At the speed that my heart was beating, I was going to give myself a heart attack pretty soon. The man beside me had a crossbow thrown over his right shoulder and was holding onto a large rock, waiting for them.

When the two biters approached us, Mr. Crossbow let go off me and shot an arrow through the eye of one of them, proceeding to smash the skull of the other in a heartbeat. I sucked in a breath, trying to acknowledge what had just happened in front of me. Then, he turned around and pointed his crossbow at me like I was the enemy. Please! As if I was going to do anything. He had just saved my life, for God's sake! Usually, you don't hurt those who help you! "Who the hell are ya?" He asked, keeping a stern gaze on me.

"Brynn Collins." I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. I can only imagine how dreadful I must look right now with all the mud and dirt on my face and hair. My clothes were practically covered in dirt and blood – not mine, obviously. Poor guy, he must've thought I was a biter at first. "And who might you be?"

Instead of answering, he questioned "Were you bitten? Got any scratch?"

"No, but I'd like to know your name so that I can thank you for saving my life." I replied sharply, narrowing my eyes at him.

For a few moments, Mr. Crossbow continued to stare at me, probably weighting the odds of me attacking him in a near future. Now that I was having a better look at him, I could see that he had blue eyes and a small beard. His hair was a light brown, and he was very muscular. If you ask me, I would honestly tell you that he's very handsome, despite his hard expression and stern glare. "Ya got a group or somethin'?"

"No."

"Got any weapons?"

"Nope."

"Ya sure about that?"

"Yeah, I am. What? You don't believe me? What a shocker. Tell you what: how about you search me, huh?"

As soon as those words left my mouth, I felt so embarrassed and regretful. Luckily, Mr. Crossbow decided to ignore them, turning around to start walking away from me. Well, I was not expecting that to happen! Did I scare him? That usually doesn't happen. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" I asked, jogging to keep up with him. "You can't just leave me here!"

"Oh, yeah?" He almost scoffed, glancing at me through the corner of his eye.

"Oh, yeah!" I replied with a desperate nod. "I've got nothing with me. No food, no weapons. No nothing. I'm gonna die here, ya know? And I'm sure you didn't just waste your arrows on me to leave me here rotting, am I right?"

Mr. Crossbow stopped walking, turning to look at me completely. "Go on."

"So, I say you should take me to your camp or whatever. You don't have to let me stay in there. Just… just give me a chance to survive." I begged, offering him a sympathetic look.

His blue eyes continued to analyze me, trying to read my soul and my thoughts. He probably thought I wasn't being honest. Without a warning, Mr. Crossbow continued to walk away from me, the leaves and the twigs beneath his feet getting crushed as he walked over them. I groaned and crossed my arms, standing in the exact same place as I watched him turning around with an amused expression. "Comin' or what?"

"What?"

"Ya comin' or what?" He repeated, louder this time.

"Oh, but I thought…" I trailed off, following after him in silence. "Okay…" He waited for me to catch up to him, and then we continued walking.

After a couple of minutes in pure silence, I heard him saying: "The name's Daryl Dixon, by the way."

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. **

**A/N: Hello, guys! So, what do you think of this for a first chapter? What do you think of our OC, Brynn Collins? Okay, we don't know much about her, yet, but… what do you think? I hope you enjoyed this. Oh, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for not updating my two other stories, but I haven't had time to do it. This story, though, I've been thinking about it for a long while. A year ago, I wrote about Brynn Collins but I ended up deleting it. Now, I'm giving it another shot. Anyway, if you notice any writing mistakes, please forgive me! Haha. Oh, and don't forget to leave a REVIEW, alright? See you all next time, sweeties!**


	2. Welcome to the Farm, Stranger

"Okay, so, about this camp of yours… where is it? Because we've been walking for a while now and we haven't reached it yet…"

"Right up ahead." Mr. Crossbow – or Daryl Dixon, as he called himself – responded, stealing a small glance towards my way before glaring back at the path ahead of us. I didn't know if following this man was a good idea, because let's be honest, the truly good people had died the day this shit started, and that left behind the ruthless, the disgusting and the dangerous ones. Plus, I didn't know him. For all I knew, he could be leading me to a camp filled with rapists and God knows what else.

Even so, I chose to trust him. After all, Daryl _did_ save my life.

But, of course, maybe he saved me to ask for a favor later on.

And yet, I was following him, even though I was aware that this could lead to my very death.

Was I making the right choice or was I being stupid and reckless?

Suddenly, we came out of the woods and reached a golden field of tall grass. It was enormous, and stunningly beautiful. In the distance, we could see a considerably big house resting lonely in the middle of nowhere. It was a farm, and from what I could see, there were other survivors in the area.

Daryl and I came to a sudden stop, and he glared sternly at me. "Now, listen up. Some of them ain't gonna like havin' a stranger among them. So, if you do anything as much as hurtin' anyone or tellin' others 'bout the camp, the next arrow I'll shoot won't hit a walker. It'll hit ya."

"Far be it from me to do such a thing." I responded, glancing over at the beautiful field ahead of us. When I looked back at him, I could tell he didn't believe my words. "Look, I swear. I would never hurt someone who helped me, or anyone at all… willingly. I'm completely alone, okay? I'm just passing through, that's all. You people don't have to take me in. Just let me stay for a little while. That's all I'm asking for."

"If ya say so, but ya'll have to talk to Rick Grimes. He's the one callin' the shots 'round here." Daryl answered, starting to walk towards the house. "Come on." I followed after him with eager steps, mentally preparing myself for what could culminate in my death or salvation.

Maybe they were good people. Maybe not all good people had died. I was holding onto that thought as we approached the front side of the house in a silent walk.

And while we walked towards that area, I could feel their eyes burning holes in my skin. I was fully aware that I looked like total shit compared to them. After all, they had clean clothes, water and food, while I had mud and lack of supplies. The only thing that must have kept me alive that long must have been humorous luck and ironic misfortune, because I didn't have guns or means to survive that long. The fact that I was still alive was a miracle, given everything that happened.

As we reached the front porch, we were greeted by a small group of people. They all had different types of expressions, but I'm sure they were all wondering what the hell I was doing in there. Daryl placed himself in front of me in a protective manner, while I crossed my arms nervously.

"Who the hell is she?" A blonde woman with sad blue eyes questioned almost aggressively. She was pretty, but she seemed prepared to slap the shit out of me. Boy, this was a delight.

"Where did you find her? And my, what happened to you, young lady?" An older man with a grey beard inquired, taking off his fishing hat. His expression was kinder than the other woman's, but I knew he was wary of me as well. And they had every reason to be, considering they didn't know me at all.

"What is this? What is this woman doing here?" A skinny woman with dark brown hair and light skin asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a severe expression on her face.

"You brought a stranger here? Are you out of your mind?" The blonde woman pressed, directly speaking to the redneck. From the vibe that Daryl had given me when I first met him, I could tell that he snapped easily at other people, and this much I could prove only by the watch-your-tongue-if-you-want-to-keep-it kind of look he sent her.

"Keep in mind that we were all strangers when all of this started." The man with the fishing hat argued, trying to make her see _my_ side. "What happened to you, girl?"

"Where the hell's Rick? I gotta talk to him, and I ain't got time for yer stupid questions, so jus' tell me where he is." Daryl snapped at them.

"And what would you want to discuss with Rick that you can't discuss with me?" A man with a shaved head and dubious eyes asked, stepping into the conversation and out of the house. When his eyes landed on me, his considerably normal expression changed into a hard one. "Who the hell is this girl? Where did you find her, man?"

"Y'know, you can ask the girl. She's right here." I responded sarcastically, immediately regretting saying such thing. Damn mouth, always saying the wrong thing. Even so, to support the bold attitude, I had to keep the strong posture.

Although he chuckled at my response, I could tell he wasn't nearly amused. "Alright, then. Who are ya? Where did he find ya?"

Before I had a chance to answer his questions, a man with a sheriff hat came up behind Daryl, almost giving me a heart attack. Other survivors joined in to observe the scene that was about to be displayed, and I couldn't help but shiver in fear. In silence, they all glared at me, waiting for me to answer. For some reason, the man with the shaved head observed the man who was wearing a sheriff hat with rather unpleasantness, and I wondered why. "My name is Brynn Collins. Daryl found me in the woods. I was about to get eaten up. I was… lost. And alone. And totally disarmed."

"Is that so?" The man with the shaved head – or, as I preferred to call him: Jackass – insisted, glaring sharply at me. Then, he turned to look at Daryl. "Did you search her, man?"

I answered before Daryl had the chance to pronounce a single word. "No, and he didn't have to. I was and I am telling the truth."

"Well, I don't know that, do I?" Jackass replied with a venomous smirk. He stepped closer to me and I felt my entire body stiffening in apprehension. He licked his lips and his eyes trailed down my body before focusing back on my face. "Maybe I should search you."

"On second thought, maybe you shouldn't."

"Oh, yeah? Why? Are you hiding something?"

"Shane, that's enough. There's no need for this, man." The guy with the sheriff hat intervened, disliking the way Jackass – or Shane, I guess – continued to press the issue. "If she says she's not hiding anything… I believe her." Well, if scolding him wasn't bad enough, believing me was enough to have Shane the Jackass walking away from the group with an infuriated walk. A few seconds later, the man with the sheriff hat turned to look at me with a sympathetic look. Well, that was the first. "I'm Rick Grimes. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

"As I said before, Daryl found me in the woods. If it wasn't for him, I would've been dead by now." I answered, taking a deep breath to gather all of my thoughts. "Look, I'm going to be straight to you. Obviously, I don't know you people, and you don't know me. But I'm alone, and a long way from my family. I've got nothing with me. No guns, no food… nothing. Nothing at all. I'm just a girl who lost her group to the undead. All I'm asking for is… an opportunity. A chance to live."

"That's asking for an awful lot these days, you realize that, right?" Rick responded apprehensively. Despite his words, I knew he was considering my request.

"I know… I know. But I can help around here." I glanced around, thinking of things I could do to help them. After all, if they were to help me, I had to repay somehow, right? "I can… go on runs for supplies. And I'm good with knives. I can help protect this camp."

Rick remained silent for a few moments, observing the other survivors. They were silent as well. The woman with the blonde hair seemed to have calmed down a little bit, but I knew that she absolutely hated the idea of having a new stranger among her people. The man with the fishing hat was evaluating me with great care, possibly wondering if I was a person with principles or not. The others, I hadn't yet acknowledged them, but I knew they were apprehensive of me. Daryl simply eyed Rick, waiting for the man to make up his mind.

"How long do you plan on staying?" Rick finally questioned, taking off his sheriff hat.

"Just as long as you can afford me to. I don't wanna be a burden." I answered, placing my hands on my hips.

Rick nodded, glancing at the others with an exhausted expression. Quietly, he pulled me to the side so that the others wouldn't have the chance to judge the conversation. We started walking towards a nearby tree, leaving behind very curious and suspicious survivors. "Look, Daryl told me you're the one who makes the big decisions around here. It's up to you."

The Sheriff sighed and glanced down. "That's not entirely true. There's another man, and he's the owner of this land. His name's Hershel. To have you here, I'll have to talk to him."

"Alright, I understand. But… other than Hershel, it'd be okay for you if I stayed here?" I asked, crossing arms over my chest with a bit of anxiety evident. "I promise I won't stay for long. I just need a place to settle for a while before I go out looking for my family. Can't do that if I'm starving or too weak to walk, now can I?"

"That is true. You'd get yourself killed." Rick nodded, staring off into the distance ahead of us. "And yes, you have my word. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like. I'm sure Hershel won't mind, but I'll have to make sure. I'll talk to him for you."

"Thank you, Rick. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." Rick answered, fixing me an honest smile. It suddenly fell as his cautious expression changed into a more preoccupied one. "What happened to your group out there, Brynn?"

I glared down at my feet, kicking off two small rocks. "My family and I joined a camp just outside of Atlanta. Everything seemed fine and relatively peaceful, until the biters came. They were so many, and they ravaged the entire camp. Not even my parents made it out alive. But I know that my siblings did. Only problem is… with that enormous chaos, we got lost from each others. And that's how I ended up here, in these woods. I never knew I could run so fast, but I did. Panic and fear can make you do things you never thought you could. And I guess that's what kept me alive this long. _Fear_."

"Fear is a very powerful emotion, Brynn. Very human, too." Rick agreed, turning to look at me with an understanding expression. "That's what keeps you alive. It's what makes you run from danger… it's what makes you continue the struggle." I nodded, acknowledging his words. "I know you'll find your siblings. When this entire thing started, I was in a coma, and when I woke up from it… my wife, my son, my best friend… they were all gone. And I feared I wouldn't find them ever again… but I did. So keep going… you'll find them."

"Oh, I wish it was that simple…" I sighed, observing the golden landscapes surrounding us. It was all so beautiful. It almost felt like a dream. "…But thank you."

Rick nodded and smiled, placing his hands on his hips. The wind gently blew my brown hair to the side and I closed my eyes, enjoying this little moment of peace. I knew that there weren't many of these to come in the near future, so I might as well enjoy it now, while it lasts.

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I only own my OC, Brynn Collins, and any other character that I might and will come up with in the future. **

**A/N: Hello, guys! I know, I am so sorry for taking SO long to update this, but here it is! I know, it's really short, but I was really drained and having a writer's block, so… yeah, this was the best I could come up with. Don't be mad at me, please! Haha. Either way, don't forget to leave a REVIEW, okay? Reviews are the fuel that keeps me going/writing! So, yeah, see you all next time, sweeties! **


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